PingPong
by Cristov
Summary: I do not own GIJoe or any of the characters that you may recognize. The main character is mine.
1. Monday

**Monday**

Sergeant Tom Jeffers stood just behind a chalk line and waited patiently for the signal. He did his best to ignore the simmering July heat, the trickle of sweat running down his back tracing perfectly his spine, the stare of Sergeant Hicks, the drill instructor running this particular exercise, and the cat calls and various comments made by the others behind him. He let his eyes focus on the an area about ten feet in front of him, it was a standard obstacle included in most, if not all, obstacle courses created since the beginning of time. Two-foot stakes had been driven into the ground to the point that only about 10 inches stuck up above the ground. There was about a dozen of these stakes running parallel to each other over the length of about ten feet. Connecting the tops of the stakes and criss-crossing over the gap was razor wire. He knew that the only way to clear this part of the course was to fall to his belly and pull himself through on his elbows in, what was commonly called, an Army Crawl.

He was so intently focused on the course that he almost missed the whistle that signaled the start of the timer.

He ran forward and dove for the opening of the Army Crawl. He pulled himself forward on his elbows, ignoring the rocks that dug into them. His mind was already on the next obstacle, a telephone pole that had been covered in axle grease and stretched over a five-foot drop into a mud pit.

When he knew his buttocks had cleared the razor wire, he jumped up to his feet and sprinted at the telephone pole. He had previously seen five different people attempt to cross this slicked pole, and he had a good idea as to how to do it. He placed one foot on one end of the pole and, instead of placing his other foot on the pole in front of the first; he crouched on the one foot and leapt for all he was worth. He managed to clear half the pit. As he landed, the part of his plan that he still was sure of, he positioned his feet as if he were strapped to a snowboard and spread his arms parallel to the pole for balance and slid the rest of the way across.

After his feet hit dirt, he dropped to one knee and quickly removed his combat boot; he switched knees and removed the other. Then he was back up and running in his socks.

He approached the next obstacle and leapt at the rope hanging from a crossbeam that had been set up over greenish water. As he swung, he climbed the rope until he reached the top. He pulled himself up to stand on the crossbeam and paused for a mere second to survey the rest of this particular obstacle. Several more cross beams stretched before him. He jumped from one to the other, like he was crossing a stream using stepping-stones. When he reached the end, he took a deep breath and jumped off in a classic swan dive, as he approached the ground he tucked into a ball and rotated his body. Before he impacted with the hard dirt, he extended himself and hit the ground running.

The next obstacle was a standard wall. Sitting astride the wall was another drill instructor whose sole purpose here was to help the soldiers over the wall if necessary. Tom ignored the open expression of surprise on the man's face as he grabbed the hanging rope, he pulled himself up by his arm strength alone until he stood on the wall he noticed that the end of the course was close. Again he jumped. This time it was more of a drop than a jump, but he had enough forward momentum that he was running as soon as his feet touched dirt.

He didn't stop running until he slapped a button mounted on a post. Immediately a gong sounded and the soldiers standing at around the finish line started whooping and hollering.

"Tom, that was fantastic." One said pounding him on the back. "That has got to be a base record."

Tom shrugged. "Maybe." He started to walk back along the course to where he had left his boots. While he walked he noticed that a man and a woman, that he didn't recognize, had joined Sergeant Hicks.

The man was about six feet tall; short cropped blonde hair wearing a tan button up shirt and green pants. The woman was about five and a half feet tall; long red hair pulled back into a ponytail and wearing a type of uniform that he did not recognize. It was a tan leotard type covering with gray sleeves and leggings, over her right collar bone, and extending up to the top of her shoulder was a patch of quilted red material, over each hand was a tan, throwing star adorned, glove that covered her forearms up to her elbow, and strapped to her right thigh was a combat knife.

He noticed that the three people, Sergeant Hicks included, kept looking from the stopwatch, up to him and back. He dismissed them from his mind as he sat and replaced his boots.

As he stood, he heard footsteps approaching. He turned and watched the man and woman walking toward him. He noticed the ranking insignia, snapped to attention and saluted.

"At ease, soldier." The man said.

Tom dropped to parade rest and stared at a point between the two people.

"What's your name, soldier?" The woman asked.

"Jeffers, Thomas J. Staff Sergeant."

"Well, Sergeant Jeffers." The man said. "The average time to complete this course is three minutes and fifty-five seconds."

"Yes, sir"

"You cleared it in a minute ten."

Tom swallowed a lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. "Thank you, sir."

"First things first." The man smiled. "Drop the 'sir' and call me Duke. This is Scarlett. We've been sent here to inspect the troops for possible recruitment into an elite squad of men and women." The man produced a clipboard and flipped through a couple of the pages. "And, Tom, you're not on my list of possible candidates."

Tom didn't know what to think, let alone say.

"How is it that a soldier of your caliber remained unnoticed among your peers on base?" Scarlett asked, a glint of suspicion in her eyes.

"I'll field that one." A gruff voice was heard from behind Tom. Tom spun and snapped to attention again.

"General Faircliff." Duke said.

"Hello, Duke." Faircliff shook the blonde man's hand. "Scarlett, so good to see you again." He took both of Scarlett's hands and kissed her on the cheek.

"General, it has been way to long."

"The reason that Tom is not on your list, Duke, is that he's been bounced from one assignment to another." The general explained. "Come, let's step into my office and get out of this heat." The three old friends started to walk away and Tom turned to return to his place at the finish line. "Coming, Tom?"

Tom smartly spun on his heel and fell in behind the trio as they made their way across the base.

After they were securely confined to the general's office, Faircliff continued.

"Tom's a bit of a black sheep." Faircliff sat behind the desk and indicated the two chairs facing his. Duke took one and Scarlett the other, Tom settled in against the wall by the door and stood at parade rest. Faircliff pulled a manila folder out a drawer and slid it across to Duke. "He simply refuses to do things in the accepted manner. This, honestly, is his last stop. If we can't whip him into shape, his going to be dismissed."

Scarlett glanced over at Tom and registered his blank stare. "Is this something that should be discussed in front of him?" She asked.

"Tom knows this. Don't you, Tom?"

"Yes, sir."

"Tom, there's several commendations on record here, and just as many disciplinary reports." Duke commented. "Can you explain those?"

"Permission to speak freely?" Tom asked the general.

"Of course."

"Duke, people don't take to kindly to the way I do things. Several occasions I've had to defend myself to those whose toes got stepped on and whose pride I've wounded."

"Typical macho response." Scarlett sighed.

"Begging your pardon, ma'am," Tom said. "But half of those reports concern defending myself against women. Pride is not solely the property of men."

Scarlett felt her jaw drop. "You don't pull punches, do you, Tom?"

He shrugged. "Never saw reason to."

Duke nodded. "Personally, I think you'd fit in with my team, but you would still have to follow orders. Is that a problem?"

"Of course not, sir. I am a soldier after all."

Duke closed the folder and placed it on the desk. "General, I'd like to request a transfer order for Tom into my team."

General Faircliff sighed. "I don't know, Duke. Tom's an excellent soldier, of that there's no doubt, but he can be a handful."

"Not unlike myself when I was under your command."

Faircliff chuckled. "True enough." He picked up his desk phone and dialed a number. "Sarah, push through a transfer order for one Jeffers, Thomas J." He hung up the phone. "You'll have him by week's end."

Duke and Scarlett both stood and saluted the general. "Thank you, General."

Tom saluted the three officers and opened the door to allow Duke and Scarlett to exit first. As he prepared to follow them, Faircliff called him back.

"Stay for a minute, Tom, and close the door."

Tom closed the door and turned to face the general.

"C'mon, Tom, sit down. You know we don't stand on ceremony between the two of us."

Tom slipped into a chair. "Who are they, General?" Tom asked.

Faircliff took a deep breath. "I'm afraid I can't go into too much detail, Tom. Suffice it to say that the team they belong to is almost impossible to join and even harder to quit."

"So, I should be impressed that they want me after watching me run an obstacle course?"

"Absolutely." Faircliff smiled. "Speaking of that, Hicks is not pleased about your time."

"I take it that he's the base's top gun?"

"Used to be. I'd expect some hard core PT from him before you're out of here."

"PT I can handle, but if he oversteps his bounds, I'll knock him on his ass."

"Now, Tom, don't let your temper interfere with your transfer orders."

"Are you saying that if I kick the shit out of Hicks, I'll not get transferred?"

"No." Faircliff measured his words carefully. "All I'm saying is make sure that it's self defense with plenty of witnesses."

"Understood, sir."

"You're dismissed."

Tom stood and saluted. As he turned to the door, a thought occurred to him. "Sir, there's a war game scheduled for Saturday between Alpha and Gamma squads."

"And you'd like to participate?"

"Well, I feel that Gamma's only chance to actually win is if I'm there."

Faircliff knew enough about this man to know that he was not bragging or being overconfident.

He nodded. "Consider yourself there. This will give Duke and Scarlett a chance to observe you in action."

"Not something I had considered, but yes, sir."


	2. Tuesday

Tuesday 

Gamma squad's barracks was a beehive of activity as the impending war games drew closer.

Lieutenant Harris leaned over maps of the area that would be the staging area for the war games, as they were spread out over the surface of the ping-pong table.

"We're going to deploy along this line," he said tracing a line with his perfectly maintained fingernail. "I want base camp here, among the woods along this ridge." He pointed to a shaded area.

Tom stood and looked down at the maps with his arms crossed. "Not a good idea."

Harris straightened and looked Tom in the eye. "Listen, Ping-Pong." He strode over to Tom and started jabbing him in the chest. "I don't give a rat's ass, what your opinion is. You'll do as you're told and nothing more."

Tom grabbed Harris' finger. "You'll stop jabbing me with that pathetic excuse for a finger and I won't break it." He let go and Harris stepped back.

"You all heard him, he threatened a senior officer."

"Actually, I didn't hear a thing." One man said.

"Yeah, I was listening to my MP3 player."

Harris looked around at the men. "He threatened a senior officer. And you're all accomplices for not backing me up." He thrust a finger at Tom. "Did you all forget that it was his fault that we all got double KP and PT this week?"

One soldier stood from where he had been reading a book on his cot. "Not his fault. Hicks fault for being a sore loser."

Harris threw his arms up in surrender. "Either way, the point is moot." He looked again at Tom. "You'll do what you're told and nothing more."

Tom threw him a sloppy salute. "Yes, sir." He turned and headed for the door.

"Where are you going? We're not done with the briefing."

"Wrong. You're not done. I am." Tom walked through the door and headed toward the gym.

In the gymnasium he stood and watched the basketball game that pitted those from the motor pool against those from the kitchen. After seeing the kitchen personnel score a couple of baskets, he walked into the locker room and proceeded to change into his workout clothes. He exited the locker room through a door opposite the one he had entered through and walked down a short hallway to the weight room.

As he turned a corner toward the weight room, he heard the sounds of combat coming through an open door on his left. He jogged up and prepared to join the fray, but paused when he saw it was Duke and Scarlett sparring with each other.

"C'mon, Scarlett," Duke said looking down at the red head. "Is this the best you got?"

"I'm just getting warmed up, Duke." She rolled away from his foot stomp and stood. She noticed Tom in the doorway. "We have a spectator."

Duke looked over and smiled. "Hey, Tom. Didn't expect to see you so soon."

Tom shrugged. "I heard a fight. Thought I'd do the right thing for a change and break it up."

"Why don't you step up and show us what you've got?" Scarlett asked.

Tom shook his head. "Neither of you are at a hundred percent right now." He nodded toward the sweat on their foreheads. "Let me know when you're fresh and rested."

As he turned to continue his way toward the weight room, he almost ran into a wall of solid muscle.

He looked up into the angry eyes of Sergeant Hicks. "Hiya, Sarge." Tom said casually. "Got something on your mind?"

"Yeah, pipsqueak. You breaking my record." The man said in his best drill sergeant voice.

"I'd be careful, Sarge." Tom said, unintimidated. "We're not alone here." He pointed at Duke and Scarlett.

"Those pansies?" Hicks laughed. "What're they gonna do? Sweat on me?"

Tom looked apologetically at the two soldiers.

"Why don't you step in here and show us 'pansies' how it's done?" Duke said, steel in his voice.

Tom hung his head in resignation. He walked into the room and dropped his towel against the wall by the door. "As long as it's understood that I don't pull punches and will not be held accountable for what happens."

Scarlett walked over to him. "Trust me. Nothing will happen." She said. "Take this ass down a peg or two." She whispered to him.

Tom smiled. "Yes, Ma'am." He turned to face Hicks but was caught in a bear hug as Hicks attacked his back.

Tom squirmed futilely against the drill sergeant's grip. As Hicks tightened his grip, Tom slammed his head backwards and felt the man's nose break.

The bear hug disappeared and Tom dropped to his hands and knees trying to catch his breath.

"You son-of-a-bitch. You broke my nose!" Hicks roared. He ran up and kicked Tom in the ribs, fully lifting him up off the floor and flipping him over onto his back. Hicks fell on top of Tom and started swinging wildly. Tom managed to block most of the punches, and move out of the way of others, but some did land quite solidly on his face. The more that landed on him the angrier he got.

Tom reached up grabbed the back of Hicks' head and punched him in the bloody mess where his nose used to be. Hicks cried out in pain and fell back. Tom kicked up and looked down at Hicks.

"Done yet?" He asked spitting a wad of blood onto the floor. Hicks rolled onto his feet and stood.

"Hell, no, Panty waste. I'm just getting started."

"Good." Tom smiled and looked demonic with his blood-covered teeth. He dropped into a fighting stance and motioned to Hicks. "Bring it."

Hicks stepped up and started firing punches and kicks at Tom. Tom blocked and fired back a few shots of his own.

Duke and Scarlett stood against a wall and watched the display. Duke was starting to become genuinely impressed. "Tom's got spirit."

"Oh, he's definitely got something." Scarlett said wincing as an uppercut from Tom nearly took Hicks off his feet. "Remind me not to get on his bad side."

"Agreed." Duke turned an appraising eye to the fighters. "Looks like he'd even give Slaughter a run for his money."

Scarlett giggled. "I'd pay to see that showdown."

After a combination of fist to jaw and foot to gut, Tom stood over Hicks' unconscious form.

"I said I'd know him on his ass." Was all Tom said as he collapsed.

Duke ran over to a wall-mounted phone. After dialing a number, he said. "Medics to the sparring room, ASAP."

Tom came to some time later looking up at the concerned expression of the base doctor. "Take it easy, soldier. You've got a minor concussion and a broken hand."

"It's ok, Doc. I'll live." He started to sit up but the room suddenly started to spin. He fought through it and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He was surprised to see Duke and Scarlett standing there.

"The man said take it easy, Tom." Scarlett said.

Tom made a dismissive sound and proceeded to stand. Duke stepped up to him. "Son, don't make me pull rank."

Tom sank back onto the bed. "Yes, sir." He looked around the nearly empty ward. "Hicks?"

"He's much worse off than you." The doctor said. "You did a serious number on him. He's still in surgery."

"Surgery?" Tom sounded surprised.

"Yeah. We have to reconstruct his nose. If you hadn't kept hitting it, we would've set it and be done, but now we've got to basically build it back up. He'll be off the field for a good six months."

Tom smiled. "I warned him."

The sound of a throat being cleared caught everyone's attention. They all turned and saw General Faircliff flanked by a couple of MP's.

"Sorry, son, but you're under arrest for assaulting a superior officer."

Scarlett stepped up and stood between the general and Tom. "General, Duke and I witnessed the incident. It was only a sparring accident."

"With the amount of damage that Hicks took, I seriously doubt it." Faircliff said. "Now, Sergeant, step aside and let these men do their jobs."

Duke took Scarlett's arm and gently pulled her out of the way.

The doctor stepped up to the general. "I'm not releasing this man from my care at this time."

"You can carry out your duties over at the brig hospital." Faircliff stated as he watched the MP's handcuff Tom and lead him out of the ward.

Faircliff looked over at Scarlett and Duke. "The trial will be held tomorrow. Full court-martial. JAG's already en route."

"Then we'll be testifying for the defense, sir." Duke said.

Faircliff nodded. "I expected as much. When the JAG arrives, I'll put them in touch with you." He turned and followed the MP's and Tom out the door.

"Come on, Scarlett." Duke headed for the door.

"Duke, we can't leave this alone." Scarlett said, following him.

"I don't intend to." Duke said. He lead the way over to the Admin building where an office had been set up for their use. As soon as the door was closed behind them, Duke was on the phone.

"General Hawk? Yes, sir. We've got a slight situation here." Duke gave a brief description of what had happened, emphasizing that Tom was in no way at fault.

Duke listened. "Yes, sir." He said as he hung up the phone.

"Well?" Scarlett asked.

"He'll be here for the proceedings tomorrow."

"He's actually coming in over something like this?"

Duke nodded. "Yeah, I'm kinda surprised myself."

Scarlett sat back and put her feet up on the desk. "So now what?"

"Now, we wait to see if Hicks can testify tomorrow."


	3. Wednesday

**Wednesday**

Sunlight poured through the barred windows of Sergeant Jeffers cell and fell across his face. If he had been asleep, he would have awakened, but, seeing as how he never slept past six o'clock in the morning no matter what time he went to sleep, he was already awake and staring at the ceiling.

_It's happening again._ He thought grimly. _Every time, every damned time I find a place to go, I just had to be better than everyone else on base and cause problems._

The sound of clinking keys drew his attention to the cell door. A man's face looked through the Plexiglas window that was set into the door and noted his position. The face disappeared and the door unlocked and swung open. The MP strode into the room and handed Tom the garment bag he was carrying.

"Here are you dress blues for the court-martial." The man said.

Tom stood and took the bag. He unzipped it and saw the dress blues that had been hanging in his locker in Gamma Squad's barracks.

"For what it's worth," the MP said as he turned back to the door. "Hicks had it coming. You've earned the respect of almost the entire enlisted rank." The MP swung the door closed and locked it.

Tom took little consolation in what the MP had said. Invariably, the person that he had bested had deserved the ass whipping that they had received. He stripped down to his skivvies and dressed in the dress blues of the U.S. Marine Corps. More than likely it would be the last day that he would wear them. This had been his last chance to salvage his career, and he had blown it. Not even the transfer he'd been promised to this unknown team was going to save him.

He looked at the clock on the wall. A few more hours and he'd be standing before the JAG officers and getting the official boot from the Corps.

He straightened his jacket so the buttons ran right down the middle of his chest and brushed his pant legs as he sat down on the edge of the cot, his pure white hat with the Marine Corps insignia in gold on the front sitting on the blanket by his side. The only thing he did not have, not surprising, was his ceremonial sword.

He kept his back ramrod straight and watched the second hand of the clock make its inevitable orbit around the face.

Half an hour before the court-martial had been scheduled, the sound of jingling keys approached his door again. Again the MP looked through the window and unlocked the door. Tom didn't look at the door, instead choosing to wait for the guard to request him to stand.

But the voice he heard was one that he had not expected.

"Hello, Tom."

Tom jumped to his feet and snapped to attention and fired off a smart salute. "General."

Tom barely registered Duke and Scarlett standing in the doorway with their superior officer, General Hawk.

"As you were, son." The general said. "It's been a long time, Tom. How's your mother?"

"Sir, she passed away last year." Tom said as he dropped to parade rest.

"Tom, sit down." Hawk said.

"Sir, in the presence of a senior officer, I will stand."

Hawk chuckled. "You were always stubborn. And more by the book than most people realize."

"If you say so, sir."

"Listen, Tom, I want you to tell me your side of what happened."

Tom recounted the incident, from the running of the obstacle course to the fight in the sparring room. Hawk listened very intently to Tom's account and nodded when he had finished. "Good, that jibes with what Duke and Scarlett told me." He clapped his hand to Tom's shoulder. "Don't worry. The transfer will go through, just a little earlier than intended." He turned and walked out of the cell. Duke nodded to Tom, and Scarlett gave him a small smile before they followed.

The MP stepped up to the door. "It's time." He said simply.

Tom stooped and picked up his hat. He placed it on his head and tugged it down firmly. He nodded to the guard. "Let's go."

The guard led Tom through a complex series of turns in the brig facility and stopped outside a pair of double doors. He turned toward Tom and held out a pair of handcuffs.

"I'm sorry, sir, but regulations insist that you wear these while before the JAG officers."

Tom nodded and extended his hands.

"If I may ask," the guard said while fastening the handcuffs, "how is it that you know General Hawk?"

"You know who he is?" Tom asked a little surprised.

"Absolutely. This is not his first visit to the base. And I hear things."

"He's my uncle on my father's side. He's the whole reason I became a Marine."

The guard nodded. "Maybe that will come out in your favor in there." He nodded toward the double doors.

"It had better not come out at all." Tom said quietly.

"Oh, don't worry, sir. I won't say anything." The guard said, misunderstanding the direction of Tom's comment.

"I'm not worried about you." Tom said. "I'm worried about him."

The doors swung open and Tom walked through with no hesitation. Sitting against the far wall was a folding table and three men in white dress uniforms. In front of the table sat a single chair.

"Staff Sergeant Thomas J. Jeffers." The man on Tom's left started. "You are hereby accused of assaulting a superior officer, malicious use of the skills that the Marine Corps gave you, and insubordination. How do you plead?"

Tom came to a stop between the JAG officers and the chair intended for him. "Guilty, guilty, and not guilty." Tom answered.

"Let it be entered into the record that the defendant has pled guilty to the charge of assaulting a superior officer and malicious use of the skills that the Marine Corps gave him, but not guilty to the charge of insubordination."

"The defendant will sit down." The man in the middle said. He waited until Tom had sat down before continuing. "Sergeant Jeffers, this is not the first time you've been before this panel, is it?"

"No, sir." Tom said making eye contact. "I've been brought up on these similar charges on each of my last five posts. And I've been acquitted each time."

"I have a feeling that this will be the last time we have the pleasure of your company, Sergeant." The man in the middle said. "Call in the first witness."

A nurse pushing a wheelchair passed Tom's chair.

"Please make this brief, Admiral." The nurse said.

"Of course." The man in the middle said. "First off, how are you feeling, Sergeant Hicks?"

"As well as can be expected, sir." The drill instructor saluted.

"We'll try to make this as brief as possible, Sergeant." The admiral said. "First, why don't you tell the court what happened yesterday afternoon."

"Well, sir," he coughed. "I was walking down the hall toward the locker rooms in the gymnasium, when, as I was passing the sparring room, I overheard Sergeant Jeffers, the Defendant, bragging about how he could take on both Duke and Scarlett in hand to hand combat."

"And did this concern you?"

"Normally, no, but after his performance on the obstacle course, and with what little I know of his personnel file, I knew he was a hothead that was bound to get himself in trouble."

"So you were only concerned about Sergeant Jeffers' health?"

He nodded weakly. "Yes, sir."

"Go on."

"Well, I approached Sergeant Jeffers and, at first, suggested that he didn't want to mess with those two. He laughed and called them pansies. I then ordered him to step down and be on his way."

"What did Sergeant Jeffers do at that point?"

"He stepped into the sparring room with the obvious intent of picking a fight. I attacked him, not only to protect himself from grievous harm, but to protect the honor of this base."

Tom could hardly keep a straight face.

"And when you woke up?"

"I found that he had done so much damage to my face that the docs had to reconstruct my nose."

"Reconstructive surgery? How is it that you're able to testify here today?"

He shrugged. "I don't understand the miracles of modern medicine myself, sir."

"Thank you, Sergeant. That'll be all."

They waited until Sergeant Hicks had left the room before continuing.

"Heard enough, Sergeant?" The admiral asked.

Before Tom could reply, however, the doors burst open and General Hawk stormed in followed closely by Duke and Scarlett.

"What is the meaning of this atrocity?" The admiral demanded jumping to his feet.

"Admiral, I thought you'd like to hear a couple more witnesses. On behalf of Sergeant Jeffers."

"General Hawk, we have all the evidence we need, but thank you. You may leave." The admiral said dismissively.

"For a railroad trial, maybe. But for a fair trial, no, you don't." General Hawk stopped in front of the admiral and leaned forward resting his fists on the table. "I understand that you and your officers declined to even hear a statement from either of the two other witnesses that were present at yesterdays incident."

"Not declined. We were busy gathering evidence as we had a short deadline to meet." The admiral said defensively.

"Well, in the interest of justice, you'll hear it now." The admiral started to open his mouth. "Paul, don't make me call the president." The admiral snapped his jaw shut again and sat back in his chair.

"Continue."

Hawk nodded to Duke. "Go ahead, Duke."

"Thank you, sir." Duke stepped forward and stood at parade rest, focusing his full attention on the three men behind the chair.

"Yesterday afternoon at 1300 hours, Scarlett and myself were sparring in the sparring room. We had just finished the third round when Scarlett noticed Sergeant Jeffers standing in the doorway."

"Please, Duke, keep your testimony limited to what you personally know, not what others saw or did."

"Yes, sir." Duke sighed. "I invited Sergeant Jeffers to join us in sparring, when Sergeant Hicks stepped up and started to harass Sergeant Jeffers about his performance on the obstacle course the previous day. Sergeant Jeffers tried to warn him off referring to us as witnesses. It was at this point that Sergeant Hicks referred to us as pansies. I invited them to step into the room and to demonstrate their skills. After an un-honorable attack by Sergeant Jeffers, I'm pleased to say that Sergeant Jeffers was declared the winner."

"So, you're saying that everything that Sergeant Hicks told us here today was a complete fabrication."

"Yes, sir."

The admiral looked at Scarlett. "Anything you would care to add, Scarlett?"

"Actually, yes, sir." Scarlett stepped forward and struck the same pose as Duke. "I told Sergeant Jeffers to, and I quote, 'Take that ass down a peg or two.'"

"That'll be all." The admiral dismissed them. The three men huddled behind the

table while Hawk, Duke and Scarlett filed out of the room. After several minutes, the trio turned back to Tom. "I understand that a transfer order has been approved for you to join Hawk's team."

"I was aware that a transfer had been requested, but I was unaware that it had actually gone through." Tom replied.

"Well, let's hope you do better there than you did here." The admiral struck a gavel on the tabletop and the three men stood and left the room via a side door.

The same MP that had escorted Tom to the hearing stepped forward and removed the handcuffs. "Very good, sir." He smiled. "I'll let the betting pool know right away."


	4. Thursday

_Again, I do not own GI JOE, nor any characters therein, excepting my own._

_My thanks to those who have reviewed this story so far. As for your question, you'll see soon enough, maybe next chapter._

**Thursday**

Sergeant Jeffers felt at peace. He was currently sitting on the roof of the two story barracks that housed Gamma squad and watched the sunrise. This was part of his morning routine and he had missed it yesterday due to being in the brig, however, he was enjoying it now.

The sound of boots on gravel drew his attention to General Hawk walking toward the barracks. As nimble as a cat, he unfolded his legs and dropped over the edge. He gripped the now empty flagpole and slid down to the ground just as Hawk reached the bottom of the steps that led to the door.

"General." Jeffers said as he snapped to attention.

Hawk barely hid the surprise from his face as he turned to face his nephew.

"Just came by to advise you that your transport will be ready in three hours."

"Thank you, sir." Jeffers said. "I was wondering if I could make a personal request, sir."

"Certainly." Hawk crossed his arms.

"Saturday, Gamma squad is participating in a war games against Alpha squad, and, based on past performance Gamma will lose…"

"Unless you participate." Hawk finished.

"Yes, sir."

"And you wish to participate just so the Gamma's can chalk up a victory." It wasn't a question.

"That is correct, sir."

Hawk thought for a moment. "Tell you what. I would normally deny the request, but seeing as how you've already participated in strategizing for the games, I'll allow it. We'll get you back here tomorrow night to participate Saturday. But, now you need to pack your gear and prepare for dust off." He turned and walked away.

"Thank you, sir." Tom waited until after the general had taken eight or nine paces before jogging up the steps and entering the barracks.

As he passed the squad's war room, he overheard Lieutenant Harris going over the strategy with another soldier.

"What makes this years war game so different than any other?" The soldier asked. "We're gonna get our asses kicked, like last year, if not worse, thanks to Jeffers."

Tom stepped into the room. "Because this year I'm participating. They know your strategy because you don't change it. They know how you'll react because you react the same every year. But, they don't know me, or how I'll react. That's got them in a tizzy right now. They'll be even more cautious, because I'm the wild card that can trip them up. We can use that to destroy them."

"But because of what you did to Hicks, not saying that he didn't deserve it, but because of that, they'll be even more anxious to kick our asses." The soldier, one Corporal Henderson, said.

"The more anxious they are, the more mistakes they'll make." Tom said. "When you're in a fight, you fight smart, not pissed." He walked up to the table and looked at the map. He studied the position they'd been assigned. According to the topography, it was the mouth of a large valley. "Look, they'll send 80 of their force right down the middle, anticipating that they'll bully they're way through the line. They'll send 5 of their force over each hill," he pointed to the areas on the map, "in an attempt to outflank us and get our flag because they believe that you'll put all of your troops on the line to stop the 80 from going through."

Harris was starting to get red in the face. "And how do you know this?'

"Because you do the same thing every year." Tom stared at the man. "Honestly, man, don't you ever learn from your mistakes?"

"This is my first year commanding the war games, Sergeant." Harris said, emphasizing the rank.

Tom ignored it. "But, it's not your first time getting your ass kicked by the Alphas."

"What about the other 10?" Henderson asked.

Tom turned to look at the man.

"You said 80 down the middle, and 5 around our flanks. That's 90. Where are the other 10?"

"Guarding their flag, in case you guys get a set of balls and make a run for it. Unless, I've pissed them off to the point that they forego all common sense, in which case they'll, either send 90 down the middle, or they'll send 10 around each flank."

"And how do you propose that we counter-act these scenarios?" Harris asked.

Tom smiled. "I actually do have a plan or two."

He quickly outlined a couple of ideas that he had, and the three men spent the next hour and a half fine-tuning each plan. Afterwards, Tom broke off to go pack his gear.

Shortly after Tom had stowed his gear by the barracks door, and he returned to the war room, a jeep pulled up to the barracks and the driver honked the horn.

"Well, my rides here, but I'll be back tomorrow night to finalize everything." Tom said as he exited the room. He picked up his duffle bag and opened the door. As he tossed his bag in the back of the jeep, he noticed that Scarlett was in the driver's seat.

"Scarlett." Tom said as he slid into the passenger's seat.

"Sergeant." She gunned the engine, threw it into gear and tore off for the airstrip. "You ready for this?"

Tom shrugged. "Just another assignment for me to screw up. They should've just discharged me yesterday and saved themselves the trouble."

Scarlett frowned. "What makes you think that you're going to screw up?"

"Just look at my record?" He said. "I've been in the Corps over 10 years. In that time, I've been brought up on charges six times for assaulting a superior officer, et cetera, I've been bounced from base to base so much, I don't bother unpacking anymore. I've had nine base assignments. But every time, I do something that strokes someone's ego the wrong way and I get bounced. I feel like a damned ping pong ball."

"Actually I have looked at your record. So have Duke and General Hawk. We've seen everything you just told me. And I won't lie to you there are some huge egos on the team. But, I will tell you that no one will get pissed, like Hicks, and kick your ass if you beat them at something. It'll just light a fire under our asses to work that much harder." She slowed the jeep to a halt when they reached a C-20 Gulfstream aircraft. "If you hurt someone's feelings by being better than them at something, anything, than they don't deserve the post their in."

Tom hopped out of the jeep and grabbed his duffel bag from the back. "We'll see." Was all he said.

Standing by the steps leading up into the jet was Hawk talking to a man that Tom didn't know. As they approached, Scarlett greeted the man.

"Ace." Scarlet said. "Good to see you."

"Scarlett." The brown haired man lifted his hand to receive a high-five from the red-haired woman. He turned his attention to Tom. "And you must be Sergeant Jeffers." He stuck his hand out.

Tom shook the man's hand. "I see my reputation proceeds me."

"Absolutely." Ace smiled. "A few years before I was recruited to the Joe's I ran this exact same obstacle course and was lucky to have finished it. Hawk tells me that you finished it in a minute ten. I'm impressed."

Tom shrugged. "It was nothing special."

"Nothing special?" Ace laughed. "When I'd heard what you did, I had Breaker get a copy of the surveillance tape and it's making its rounds around the base."

"Where can I stow my gear, sir?" Tom asked Hawk, clearly embarrassed by the praise coming from the pilot.

"I'll show you." Hawk led the way up the steps into the jet.

The interior of the jet was beige with three rows of seats, one seat on each side of the main aisle. Behind the third set of seats stood a door.

"In there, soldier." Hawk said, pointing at the door.

"Thank you, sir." Tom walked toward the door.

"Any time you're ready, Ace." Hawk said as Scarlett and Ace climbed into the jet.

"Yes, sir." The pilot responded as he went through a door into the cockpit.

After getting clearance from the tower and filing their flight plan, Ace eased the jet onto the concourse and accelerated to take off speed. Once in the air, Haw turned his char around to face Jeffers.

"First things first, Sergeant." Hawk said. "While on base I am not your uncle, I am your superior officer. I know, from both your record and correspondence with the family, that you have issues with authority figures, but let me make one thing clear. By accepting this transfer, the only way out is imprisonment in Fort Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, or a body bag. Am I clear so far?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. I'm sure you have questions, so go ahead."

"Sir, Ace made mention of 'the Joes'. What is he talking about?"

"He means G.I. Joe. A code name given to an elite troop of men and women whose sole purpose is to fight terrorism anywhere it is found. Our chief threat comes from a terrorist organization called Cobra. It's a ruthless organization that will do anything, and everything, it can to destroy freedom and conquer the world." He motioned to Scarlett.

She touched a button on the armrest of her seat and screen positioned to the right of the cockpit door lit up and the lights in the cabin dimmed. The screen showed a battle between, what he would assume to be, Joe forces and Cobra forces.

"As you can see, they're every bit as determined as we are." She hit another button. The battle disappeared and a head shot of someone wearing a blue cloth hood bearing a stylized cobra head on the forehead. "This is Cobra Commander, former leader of Cobra, now barely recognized as a member of the group."

"Former leader?" Tom asked. "Who's the leader now?"

"I'll get to that." She hit another button, Cobra Commander's picture vanished and was replaced by that of a man wearing a shiny metal mask that covered his entire head. "This is Destro. He supplies arms and technology to Cobra. He's also the brains behind several of Cobras more diabolical devices." A picture of a dark haired woman wearing glasses replaced Destro's. "This is Baroness. We're not really sure of her purpose within Cobra except to serve as Destro's plaything. But, don't underestimate her. She's every bit as ruthless and murderous as the rest of the top echelon." Her picture was replaced by a man wearing a cobra hood with green snakes on either side of his neck. "Finally we have Serpentor, the current leader of Cobra. It is rumored that Dr. Mindbender created Serpentor using strands of DNA from several of the world's most fanatical rulers: Genghis Kahn, Julius Cesar, and Attila the Hun, just to name a few."

"So these are a bunch of bullies with the vision and the means to rule the world." Tom said frankly.

"Absolutely." Hawk replied as the monitor clicked off and the cabin lights were brought back to norm.

Tom smiled. "Good. When do I start?"

Hawk looked at his watch. "You started twenty minutes ago when we took off."

Tom settled back in his seat and closed his eyes.

Deep within the Bayous of Louisiana, a man paced back in forth in front of a wooden table. Surrounding the table were a group of people that did his bidding, as long as he paid them. Never mind that two of the people were his siblings, he hated them all and would leave any of them behind to save his own ass.

"Where is he?" The man's voice sounded almost hollow, even to his own ears.

"Calm down, Brother dear," The man's sister tried soothing him but her Cockney accent was grating his nerves more than usual.

"Shut up, you pink haired twit." He said. He turned back toward the communications array that he had set up. "He was supposed to check in hours ago." He thundered at the device. Just as the echo of his outburst died down, the device started beeping. He snatched up the headset and slapped it on. "You're late." He bellowed into the mic. "I don't care about your excuses." He listened for a minute. "Really?" He started to smile. "Very interesting." His expression turned serious. "I don't care if they do catch you, if you want your money, you'll stay put and do as your told." With that Zartan of the Dreadnoks disconnected the communication and removed the head set.


	5. Thursday Part 2

It was early evening as the C20 Gulfstream touched down. Tom was immediately up and retrieving his duffle from the storage area then followed Scarlett and Hawk down the steps to the tarmac where several people met them.

Tom saw Duke approaching Hawk with a clipboard. He tapped Scarlett on the shoulder. "When did Duke get here?" He asked. "I thought he was still back at base."

"First, this is now your base." She said. "Secondly, he returned last night." She waved to a pretty brunette. "Lady Jaye!" She called out and ran over to her best friend.

Tom stood on the tarmac, totally feeling like a fish out of water. He watched Scarlett walk off with the woman called Lady Jaye, and Duke walk off with Hawk. He was at a loss as to what to do next. He knew that he needed a place to stow his gear, but he had no clue as to who to talk to about that. He started when a hand clapped him on the shoulder.

"C'mon, Sarge," Ace said as he walked past. "Hawk wanted me to show you your quarters." Tom picked up his duffel and followed the pilot. "Good news is you won't be bunking with the other green shirts."

Tom was confused. "Green shirts?"

"Yeah, that's what we call the new recruits." He pointed to a squad of green shirts running an obstacle course. Walking along the edge of the course, Tom saw a man wearing a green ski mask, yelling at the top of his lungs. "That's Beach Head. He may sound like a grizzly bear with one paw stuck in a bear trap, but he's really a grizzly bear with two paws stuck in bear traps."

Tom shook his head. "So what's the bad news?"

"The bad news is that you get to bunk with Shipwreck."

"I don't get it."

"Believe me, you will." Ace shuddered. He led the way across a compound and into a square two story building. On several of the doors, Tom noticed what appeared to be code names, Doc, Psyche-Out, Quick Kick, and they finally stopped in front of a door with the word Shipwreck. Also on the door was the universal symbol for radioactivity. Ace knocked on the door. "Yo, 'Wreck, you home?"

"Awk, nobody here but us chickens, awk." The shrill voice of a parrot came through the door.

Ace grinned. "That's Polly, Shipwreck's parrot."

"I'm guessing that Shipwreck is a sailor."

"Score one for the newbie." A man's voice said from behind them. Ace and Tom turned to see a bearded man leaning against the wall.

"Shipwreck, this is Sergeant Tom Jeffers. You're new roomie." Ace chuckled as he walked away.

"What? New roomie?" Shipwreck yelled. "Tarter Sauce and barnacles. Since when do I need a roomie?"

"Since we can't get you to keep your quarters clean." Ace said as he turned a corner.

"Well, come on in, Jeffers. Might as well get your gear stowed and meet Polly." Shipwreck walked over to the door and swiped his passkey though the electronic lock. The Door whisked open and a pile of trash; mainly empty chip bags and soda cans, poured out into the hall.

Tom carefully stepped into the suite and looked around at the filth piled everywhere. "I can't believe you're military."

"Actually, Bub, I joined up with the Joes after the incident with the Weather Dominator."

"The Weather Dominator?" Tom looked skeptical. "You?" He chuckled.

"Yeah, me. Got a problem with that?" He stepped up and poked a finger into Tom's chest.

"I just find it hard to believe, is all. From what I've seen this is an elite military force. It's hard to imagine that you would agree to serve in such a force considering all the rules and regulations."

"Yeah, well, we're not as high strung as you'd imagine." Shipwreck said picking up a small metal case.

"What's that?" Tom asked as he began unpacking his duffel bag.

"Poker chips." Shipwreck grinned. "It's time to relieve Cover Girl and Ace of their pay checks."

"Care if I sit in?" Tom asked.

"Not at all. I could always use the extra dough."

Tom turned away from his duffel bag. "Let's go." He headed for the door. "What's the buy-in?"

"A hundred." Shipwreck followed Tom out the door, but led the way to the Joes rec room.

As they entered the fluorescent-lit room, Tom noted that the room was more occupied than he anticipated. He saw several people watching television, several others watching a couple of people playing a video game, and three others setting up a standard sized poker table.

"Yo Joe!" 'Wreck announced as he entered the room. "Ready to lose, Ladies?"

A blonde turned from where she was setting up chairs. "Not this time, you salty sea dog." She called out.

Ace, whom Tom recognized from the trip to base earlier was already sitting at the table. "Bring it on, 'Wreck." He noticed that Tom had walked into the room. "Hiya, Sarge. Care to play?"

Tom stifled a grin. "Depends on what you're playing."

"Texas Hold 'Em." Ace answered. "A hundred buy-in with up to three re-buys."

Tom nodded. "I'm in." He pulled a crisp hundred-dollar bill from his wallet. "Fair warning, though, I suck."

This made the Joes smile. Shipwreck handed the case to a bald man sporting a Marine tat on his chest who was sitting in the traditional dealer's seat.

"I expect them all back after I win, Gung Ho." Shipwreck said.

"Yeah, yeah. Tell it to the dealer. I'm just here to get things set up."

"Who is the dealer?" Tom asked.

"That would be me." Hawk said as he entered the room. Tom immediately snapped to attention. "Stand easy, son. During off hours we don't stand on ceremony, much."

"Yes, sir." Tom said as he resumed his seat. Hawk replaced Gung Ho in the dealer's seat and Gung Ho planted himself between Tom and Ace.

"OK, for those new here," Hawk said pointed looking at Tom. "This is standard Vegas Hold 'Em. I deal two pocket cards to each of you. After the initial betting round, I burn the top card then lay down the flop, and so on and so forth."

Tom nodded. "Understood."

"Good, y'all haven't started yet." A man's voice, thick in southern accent, was heard from the rec room doors.

"Not yet, Beach Head." Hawk said. He did a quick head count. "We're short three people."

"Not anymore." Ace said. Being one of the Joes facing the door, he saw the three missing players walk in. There were actually four, that Tom saw, Duke and Scarlett he knew, but there was another couple that he didn't.

Hawk looked up at them. "Sorry. Flint, Lady Jaye. Seems that our newest recruit wants to donate his money tonight."

"That's ok, Hawk." Lady Jaye, a petite woman with short brown hair said. "I'll sit in when he loses." She smiled at Tom. "Welcome to the team."

"Ma'am." Tom nodded. "Limits?" He asked of Hawk as Duke, Scarlett, and Flint took their seats.

"No Limit."

"Blinds?"

"We start small, five-ten."

Tom nodded. "Shall we play?"

Hawk shuffled the cards and offered the deck to the table for cut. No one accepted and he began to deal.

Tom waited for the cards to fall and watched the other players as they looked at their individual hands.

Since Flint was on the button, making Ace the small blind and Gung Ho the big blind, Tom was first to act. He looked at his cards. He then tossed a couple of five-dollar chips into the middle.

"First warning is free, Tom." Hawk said. "Try not to splash the pot."

"My apologies, sir." He reached in and stacked his chips properly. He watched as everybody behind him made his or her decisions. Cover Girl folded; Shipwreck called; Beach Head, Duke, and Scarlett all folded; Flint and Ace called; and Gung Ho checked.

Hawk took the top card and set it aside face down, then turned over three cards: Jack of spades, ten of hearts, and eight of clubs.

Ace pondered his hand for a minute then folded, Gung Ho followed his example. Tom set another stack of five-dollar chips in the middle. Shipwreck looked at Tom as if seeing him for the first time.

"I'll see your ten and raise you another twenty." He said.

"Too rich for my blood," Flint said, folding.

Tom didn't hesitate. "Re-raise thirty."

"Call." Shipwreck said placing the proper amount of chips in the middle.

Hawk burned the top card and turned over the turn. Seven of diamonds.

Tom set fifteen dollars worth of chips in the middle.

"Call." Shipwreck said, adding his chips to the pot.

Hawk burned the top card and flipped the river. Queen of clubs.

"Check." Tom said.

Shipwreck smiled. "All in." He howled as he pushed the rest of his chips into the pot. He flipped his pockets over and everyone saw seven of hearts and nine of diamonds.

Tom sighed. "Shipwreck, you want a soda?" He asked.

"Yeah, actually I do."

"Get me one to, would you?" Tom said as he pushed his hips in and flipped his pocket cards over. There was a tense moment as Shipwreck stared at the cards dumbfounded. Tom flipped over ace-king of hearts. The Big Slick. Tom had beat 'Wreck's queen high straight with an ace high straight..

Hawk pushed two hundred and twenty dollars worth of chips to Tom. "Well played, boy." Hawk laughed.

Shipwreck fumed silently as he handed Hawk another hundred dollars for a small stack of chips.

So it went over the next several hands, Tom folding several of them, and those that he didn't fold, he lost small money on.

As it neared the midnight hour, Tom covered a yawn. "I'm afraid, ladies and gents," he said, feeling more comfortable with the Joes, "that I'm gonna have to call it a night. I've had a busy day, and if I'm going to get any decent sleep, I've got some cleaning to do."


End file.
